A recent interview with Mike Miller, the director of Business and Industrial Markets at Google, showed that many B2B companies today are using search engines before making final purchasing decisions.

Speaking to eMarketer, Miller explained that two years ago, around 71% of B2B firms said they use the Internet to conduct research into the products available before settling on what to buy. That figure had increased to 88% by 2012. It was found that the majority of B2B marketers (around 90%) rely on web content to guide their future purchasing decisions.

Miller added that companies should assume visitors to their sites come with at least a measure of familiarity with the products they’re after. He said that with B2B companies looking to make a purchase, by the time they engage with the seller company they’re already more than halfway through the purchasing process.

This could mean that, with nine out of 10 B2B marketers using the Internet to inform their purchasing decisions, website marketing specialists need to bring their focus onto providing top quality, relevant content – allowing them to help potential buyers through the last stages of the purchase process. In the interview, Miller advised businesses to make sure their content – whether written, pictorial or video-based – is tailored to their specific target audiences.

Previous reports have shown that businesses are responding to the need for a strong online presence. Studies have found that around 90% of marketers personalise their websites to improve user experience.